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Guatemala 1, USA 1: Match Highlights

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98tJmnmeWmA]

Comments

  1. It was a perfect pass. I was criticizing Altidore for not finishing the run. Hope he learns from it, cause one could argue it cost the US 2 points.

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  2. Your insane if you try and tell me Wondo even belongs on this team. Joey made mistake and if Gomez wasn’t so burnt out by Klinsman over working this team this game was likely a 2-1, but Wondolousy can’t finish on an international level period.

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  3. That was a beautiful ball from Bradley! Altidore should have easily put that ball away. I watched the replay….Jozy actually pulls away from the ball, like as if it wasn’t a good enough pass for him to make the effort to try and score. I was pissed.

    Herculez or Wondo would have been all over that ball.

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  4. I have no problem with Bradley playing the pass. He had a relatively poor angle on goal and instead made a good cross to a wide-open Altidore for what should have been a tap-in.

    I guess Bradley’s lesson is shoot, don’t pass if the target is Altidore…?

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  5. My original comment was on set pieces. You switched to free kicks now PKs. I can’t see how a team could practice corners, free kicks, tactics, if they didn’t know who would take them.

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  6. I asked Klinsmann about pk after the A&B game and he said the players decide on the field. Based on the decisions made last night, the players tend to do that. It doesn’t seem as if it’s ego driven. Deuce can take every kick if he wants. I don’t think anyone is going fuss with him, but it’s clear that he elected not to do that.

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  7. It was like a mirror image (inverse?) of Robben’s trademark beating the last defender from the right side, scooting towards the center, then shooting with his left foot.

    That was a quality goal from Deuce in a night where we could have used one or two more from others who had chances.

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  8. When players are playing to the ref, that’s what they do. Jozy often seems to like getting a call more than busting lose.

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  9. “The decision to take free kicks is made on the field.”

    I don’t believe that. I consider corners are also in the discussion, and believe the coach does decide who takes them. He should also practice with those who do take them. It just makes sense. However, you may be right as it locked like there was no set piece practice.

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  10. The decision to take free kicks is made on the field. Players decide who is going to take the shot. After Dempsey’s heroics for Fulham, I was hoping he would step up and take those kicks but he hasn’t. Disappointing. For this game I thought both donovan and Cherondolo were timid on the wings. Steve’s delivery has been consistently poor. We have great headers of the ball in the box but they get no service.

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  11. Klinsmann has two major issues to deal with. Why does the USA fade so badly in games, last 15 minutes? Why were there no shots on goals from a dozen set pieces (Jones and Gomez taking free kicks)? These are clearly coaching issues that do not require games or players to be present.
    I feel if he can’t solve these two issues, he doesn’t make it to WC 2014.

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  12. like I said…I’m not a world class keeper.

    Then, the wall was improperly set as there was plenty of room between the ball and the post when it went in. He was clearly flat-footed which could mean a couple of things but he certainly looked caught off guard by the initial kick. Not impressed on this one at all.

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  13. Clearly you don’t play keeper or haven’t been trained correctly.

    If the ball goes over the wall and in you have to tip your cap. The keepers job is to protect the other side of the goal. If he was cheating behind the wall and got beat to the other side then you could rip on him.

    When it goes over the wall and barely under the cross bar you won’t see it until it is too late

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  14. To me, everyone sort of played their game, without any moments of brilliance. Save maybe Dempsey and Howard.

    From my perspective, the thing I thought was left wanting was flank play in the final third. I don’t know if it was by design but seemed we always got stuck at the top of the final third without overlapping runs from Fabian and Cherundolo.

    Not that either of them had a bad game, just seems to me in this system they need to provide the width, and they did not.

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  15. To me two plays spoke volumes about the level of play. Dempsey made the most of his first real look at goal by scoring. Textbook of an experienced world class finisher.

    Bradley and Altidore on the other hand: clear gifted goalscoring opportunity, in the second half. Bradley opted to pass to Altidore who had stopped making is run. Two very talented platers who made the wrong call in that moment. Hopefully both players will learn from that.

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  16. LOL…

    A keeper is only as good as his last save. I don’t care about the rest of the match. In that moment, he needed to produce. Simple as that. Yes … Johnson’s foul was poor, but Tim should have made a better effort.

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  17. No but it hit the bar halfway to the corner…There was a 6+ man wall, as a keeper any wall screens you to some extent, a wall that big absolutely does. Sure he is the one who asked for it and has responsibility in that sense, but I doubt he saw the ball til it was too late. If he did a token dive and came nowhere close to it would that have made people feel better? As Ives mentioned, MOTM, handful of saves that kept the US in the game. How about you blame Fabian Johnson for the needless foul there.

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  18. I’m sorry … but Howard was terrible on that free kick. I don’t care if it was curling or dipping. The ball was no where near the corner. That HAS to be saved.

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  19. Great goal! We did not play bad, we played pretty good, we just got tired and didn’t have enough gas in the final third of the game. I’m looking at you Klinsmann!

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  20. I hate Carlos Ruiz. Dude dives and playacts so freakin much. I couldn’t watch the game so I don’t know how deserved the result was, but if you don’t think Ruiz was going down no matter how little contact there was you’re deluded.

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  21. Before the debate begins about how much better we should have played…. can we all just take a moment to celebrate Dempsey’s goal? Awesome first touch… beautiful side step.. gol gol gol gol. Not a bad run by Fabs either.

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